


The Pig & The Prince

by Saniika



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Anxiety, Breaking A Curse, Depression, Donkey skin au, Heavy angst with happy ending, M/M, Royalty AU, Secrets, all is basically metaphor on mental illness, cursed yuuri and victor, fairy tale AU, gore - mentions of blood - people dying due to illness - Victor's curse manifestation, husbands before friends and lovers, love doesn’t cure mental illness but it does help to deal with it, there might be sex involved in the story but i’ll see how the story goes, violence is tagged just to be safe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 04:05:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15833397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saniika/pseuds/Saniika
Summary: Young Prince Victor sold his soul to save his kingdom which is cursed. Prince Yuuri is born a monster with the means of Victor’s salvation. Yuuri is kind, intelligent and modest. He sees his true image for the first time and runs away to Victor’s kingdom where boredom is forbidden, it's a deadly illness. Prince Victor lives to entertain others to stop the creeping boredom. People disappear unnoticed bit by bit (hidden in hospitals to die). Child Yuuri saw Victor's painting, and one night goes to a party. He is an instant novelty, catching attention of the court. King Yakov sees in Yuuri Victor’s redemption and orders them to marry. Can both of their curses be lifted?





	The Pig & The Prince

**Author's Note:**

> warnings are posted at the end of the chapter - you can click on the more notes link and then return up with the button TOP.  
> I post these at the end so I don't spoil anything. Please proceed at your own caution.
> 
> Thank you for the amazing opportunity to join a bang, this is actually what I wrote for it but had to drop out due to health and the usual IRL stuff.  
> I still hope to finish this one day. I'll try to post bits as I go.
> 
> This was beta-ed by fantastic [Olosta](http://archiveofourown.org/users/olosta) and [Icanseeclearlynow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ICanSeeClearlyNow/works). Thank you so much! Please check out their work. 
> 
> Special shoutout to my friends who supported me! Allolli, katsuyas, whimsea and greygerbill. <3

The muted calls of the audience threatened to rip through the heavy fabric, demanding encore. It was a spectacular performance. Thousands of candles and fireflies shone brighter than any evening before. 

That night the tight machinery of the spectacle didn’t follow its course. No one could stop Victor, not even Yakov’s stern looks or commands. In the end his advisor benevolently ushered the two men towards the hidden corridor. Victor draped in platinum coat; the shimmering silver feathers on his chest made him almost feel as if he was flying. His Yuuri was holding his hand firmly and spared him only one determined glance. After that, not even once did Yuuri look back and just pulled Victor without a word through the dark labyrinth of passages, leading them to their private chamber. 

Victor’s throat tightened. Yuuri’s form clad in midnight black dissolved in the shadows and somehow it felt as if a messenger from Victor’s nightmares came alive. Yet, the hand he was holding didn't feel like cold ivory to the touch and didn’t make him shiver in fright. Quite the contrary, the warmth seeping through the glove made the hair on Victor’s nape stand up. 

The faint echo of their rushed steps echoed between the tight walls, but to Victor’s ears they were quiet. The further away they got from the stage, the louder his heart was beating, threatening to rip through his ribcage.

There was something final about this. The overflowing joy of Yuuri’s success on the stage made Victor feel so receptive and feeling more than ever. It made him sensitive and frail, susceptible to damage. A damage he was accepting and dreading. He knew that tonight in their room something he could not control would happen, something that Yuuri would do and Victor had no way of telling what exactly that would be. The worst was he couldn’t protest, he simply didn’t find the strength to resist. Deep down he wanted to succumb and surrender. The fight he kept up every night with the curse was so very exhausting. Therefore he let himself be steered by Yuuri and tried to catch his breath.

The crowd’s cheer could barely be heard once they exited the corridor and entered their chamber. Their calls were but a slight whisper, a woodworm eating away at the pillars in the foundations of the palace. Rich orange and red spilled over the room and contoured Yuuri’s form like a liquid gold on china. 

“Victor.”

Just then Victor realized he was standing frozen on the plush carpet and Yuuri was waiting for him near the hearth. Yuuri’s extended arm was inviting him to approach and Victor blindly took it as if in a feverish dream.

“Victor.”

Yuuri’s whisper sounded loud in Victor’s ear and he flinched subconsciously, the word almost assaulting him. Who knew that his own name sounded so wrong to his own ears. Yet he couldn’t give it more thought, since a kiss was pressing to his palm that felt like freshly made hot caramel. Victor twisted in Yuuri’s gentle grasp like a twig in winter, breathing quicker by the second. The ruby red of Yuuri’s eyes glimmered from the fire’s light and Victor knew that if he wanted to save his face tonight, he would have to act now.

Yet Yuuri intertwined their fingers and pulled Victor’s waist towards himself with the other arm, beginning the waltz from which it was impossible to escape. The fragile magic of the moment too crude to break and too dangerous to let it unwind. Victor already felt the shivers on his spine, spreading between his shoulder blades.

Yuuri was daring and confident, nothing like the timid, shelled creature hiding in its own shadow. Nothing like the small mouse which had arrived to his kingdom. He became exactly the prince Victor groomed into existence. All that Victor wished to see from him and more; Yuuri had overstepped his wildest expectations.

“Victor.”

Another whisper brushed against Victor’s cheek and he gasped. The warm breath against his skin stung and he became rigid, the dread of the inevitable straining his limbs. It had begun.

Yuuri unclasped Victor’s coat and stripped off his costume, layer by layer, oblivious to Victor’s quiet distress. Each piece of uncovered skin was sealed with a burning, lingering kiss that could pretty much be a bodkin pricking his charmed shell. Never did Yuuri act so autonomously and appear so desirable. Tonight he was the seductress and Victor was completely overcome by his glamour.

Yuuri led him backwards to their marital bed and then the cool sheets and thick duvets were swallowing Victor’s naked body and once more it was even more difficult to escape, for Victor being entangled in their softness. Somehow it reminded him of being a small sick boy when the maid wrapped him in cool wet rags to beat down the fever. His senses were running wild and anything around was out to attack him.

“Victor.”

Yuuri exhaled softly, sinking on Victor’s loin gracefully as a rider in a saddle would descend a mountain on a mare’s back. His thick thighs bracketed Victor’s and Yuuri abandoned his own clothes, leaving him bare and soft to the touch.

His pig skin hung abandoned over the footboard and Yuuri gave it a quick dismissive glance, gazing back at Victor, courageous. As if he was a maiden about to christen the marital bed with fresh virgin blood, ready to ignore the inevitable pain, ready to hurt and be reborn after his body passes the rite of passage. As if all the nights before didn’t count.

“I won’t need it tonight.”

Victor swallowed, feeling his throat closing as his hands, the helpless damsels, were escorted to silken lips. It should have been comforting, it should have been delightful with a hint of a long deserved satisfaction. Here, Yuuri was willing, wanting, and asking for things. Yet Victor could not enjoy the result of his delayed gratification. Yuuri turned into a prince, casting away reserves with abandon and soaking up all Victor had to offer. Gone was the reluctant, elusive being, not trembling like birches in the graveyard on a moonless night.

The clock above the hearth chimed, sending strong echo into their chamber and finally disturbing Victor’s hesitation enough. His thoughts, the scared bats looking for a way out, flew frantically in his mind. He was on a mad run trying to find even a bit of a shadow again, where he could retreat into safety and prevent himself crumbling away.

Where to run, where to hide?

He almost found an answer to the frantic question but Yuuri, still holding onto his hands, led one to his own chest and uncoiled Victor’s fingers, pressing the palm over his heart. Victor’s words froze on his lips and he choked on his own tongue. The heartbeat under his fingers had a strong rhythm. It warmed up his palm and made Victor think that he might be actually touching Yuuri’s naked heart with no skin, muscle or rib cage protecting it.

There was nothing standing between them anymore, no pretense. The stage Victor found himself at didn’t care for jokes or a dance. The audience didn’t want ribbons, masks and perfume. There was no carefully arranged lighting presenting his best angle.

 

He dared a quick glance at Yuuri’s face and immediately regretted his decision. The rich red of Yuuri’s eyes spilled over him with intent, promising a deeper encounter than the ones they had before. Victor tasted the bitter sweet Amaretto in his mouth and they haven’t even kissed yet. His own rabbit heart ached and wanted, almost convincing Victor to drink the cantarella laced with cyanide. 

Yuuri’s eyes burned and swallowed him whole and he couldn’t hide anymore. The Star of the Night took a breath and there it was. Victor felt his cheekbones cracking, the rift on the porcelain skin growing with each syllable Yuuri exhaled.

“I love you.” 

A delicate touch covered Victor’s cheek in a show of concern, Yuuri finally catching on the situation. The slightest caress destroyed the remaining integrity of Victor’s face. It was worse than touching the wings of a butterfly, completely destroying his ability to fly.

“Victor?” Yuuri’s asking voice wasn’t shy and braced the doom head-on.

However Victor was lost to the moment and pain, immersed into the abyss of despair. The avalanche threatened to bury him alive. He managed to push Yuuri’s hand away and roll to the side of the bed, leaving the confused Yuuri behind by himself. He needed to catch a break, to get a moment to collect himself. 

His face was painted over with a spider’s web as the cracks split the skin completely. He felt it under his own fingertips as he mapped them frantically over the surface. The allure fizzled away, the love’s touch swiping the magic off and Victor was left as he was true to the naked eye. The face turned into a porcelain mask that couldn’t fool anyone anymore. No blinding smile could cover up the cracked ceramic and no willpower could hold the shards in their place anymore no matter how hard Victor tried.

Yuuri would see, he would know. And the love he offered would get lost and Victor could not risk it. He could try and-

“Victor? What’s wrong?” He heard Yuuri climbing towards him and stepping on the floor. “Why are you turning away? Are you ill?”

And then a gentle caress touched his shoulder blade and Victor recoiled as if a hot poker pierced him right through the lungs. The gentle hand was smacked away, rudely knocked out of his space. It felt so very wrong, his own presence in Yuuri’s company was so out of place.

“Don’t touch me!” He covered his face with a hand and extended the other to keep Yuuri from getting closer. “Don’t look at me!” his voice sounded so strange to his own ears. As if it came from deep within a broken vase. The kind you hide away in the attic, keeping it there out of pure sentiment, covered in dust until one day you forget it completely.

The panic had him in its grasp so tightly he didn’t think clearly. If he did he would escape to his dressing room and salvage the damage. Instead, Victor backtracked slowly into a corner as a frightened animal and only when his back hit the wall, he dared to peer through his fingers.

Yuuri stood there in confusion, beautiful and bare and all Victor could see on him was hurt.

Would Yuuri press on the matter? Would he condemn Victor? Reject and turn away from him in disgust? Would Yuuri still want him, even if he had no face to show and had only emptiness to offer? Or would Yuuri run in fright, seeing the monster he truly was?

Victor didn’t know which scared him the most. Either alternative didn’t offer a happy end and made him choke on his own helplessness. And just like that something final has broken inside him and Victor was weak, his knees giving out and he slid down to the floor in a pitiful heap. He kept his palms on his face, keeping the shards from falling off and catching glimpses of the unmoving Yuuri from in between his fingers. He whispered more for himself than for Yuuri to hear over and again.

“Don’t look at me. Don’t look at me...”

**Author's Note:**

> warnings: Victor is in great mental distress and his face literally breaks - a charm of a curse turns his normal face into porcelain, which gets damaged by sincere feelings of Yuuri.
> 
> As a kid I saw a movie about a princes that was trapped in a kingdom with a evil governor and a troupe of young soldiers went to save her. In the end they figured out she wanted to leach the riches from the evil guy and was willing to sell herself. So all that saving was for nothing and she straight out went for another unhealthy coalition selling her youth. The whole movie was very unsettling and hypnotic. Sadly I can't find the name of it so it's unlisted source of inspiration like this. 
> 
> The tone set for the fic and first chapter title is from [Depeche Mode - Only When Lose Myself(Subsonic Legacy Mix)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqdpenvZsbM)
> 
> Thank you for reading! Did you like the work? Please let me know and share it :)  
> I appreciate the motivation!


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